The Crowfoot Formation is a
stratigraphical
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ...
unit of
Frasnian
The Frasnian is one of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Givetian Stage and followed by the Famennian Stage.
Major reef-building was under way during th ...
age
Age or AGE may refer to:
Time and its effects
* Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed
** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1
* Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...
in the
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Crowfoot Creek, a tributary of the
Bow River and was first described in the ''Royalite Crowfoot No. 2'' well, located near the creek by H.R. Belyea and D.J. McLaren in 1957.
[Belyea, H.R. and McLaren, D.J., 1957. Upper Devonian nomenclature in southern Alberta. Journal of the Alberta Society of Petroleum Geologists, v. S. p.166-182.]
Lithology
The Crowfoot Formation consists of
anhydrite, silty
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
, with minor
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
.
[
]
Distribution
The Crowfoot Formation is typically thick, but can reach up to .
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]
Relationship to other units
The Crowfoot Formation is overlain by the Stettler Formation and overlays the Southesk Formation.[
It is equivalent to the Calmar Formation and part of the Graminia Formation in central Alberta and to the Torquay Formation in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Montana.
]
References
{{Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, South AB=yes
Devonian Alberta
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin